The Transition in Central and
Eastern European Politics
This book introduces
students to some of the larger political issues as well as facilitating comparative
analysis, the book also examines the success or failure of the states in reaching their
stated goals of creating a civil society, democratic institutions/political rights, a
market economy, and a law-based society.
Though not in vogue with the
ever-increasing emphasis on quantitative analysis and microspecialization, this
interdisciplinary approach has numerous benefits. It gives students a general introduction
to the region, helps them understand why states that shared a common political legacy for
forty-five years can be so different today, and, most important, helps them draw
comparative conclusions. In summary, we use the detailed country studies to help students
understand events that are simultaneously occurring in very different countries.
The layout of the book is
straightforward. The first chapter introduces the analytical framework through which all
the states are examined. The next four chapters are country case studies that help
students identify the differences and similarities between the states. The concluding
chapter integrates these comparisons in order to shed light on the profound changes
occurring throughout Central and Eastern Europe.
Because of a dearth of
library resources, the first draft of this manuscript was based on student interviews with
businesspeople, embassy officials, and other sources. The insights gained from talking
with policy makers and people directly affected by the regime change greatly enhanced the
students' work, and thus this manuscript. Therefore, a special note of recognition goes to
Galina Chuleva, "Jimmy" Dimitrov, Olya Egorova, Vesselina Kolcheva, Ivanka
Lakova, Velina Nedialkova, Maria Spirova, Nadia Tisheva, Vessala Todorova, and Deniz Toro,
who wrote the "first draft" of this book. While working on subsequent versions,
I was fortunate to have four very conscientious research assistants. Dawn Jones, Mike
Hutchinson, Leah Thayer, and Marjorie Tillinghast. They not only helped with bibliographic
research, fact checking, proofreading, and preparing the country chronologies, but also
helped to ensure that the book was "student friendly," that the tone, style, and
concepts were appropriate for their peers.
337 pages